Method and system for the distribution of software products

ABSTRACT

A system and method for selling software products over a network. The system includes a server computer with access to software products. The system is configured to allow a user to purchase a subscription for the periodic acquisition of selected software products. In one embodiment, as part of the subscription, the user pays an amount during selected billing intervals. In return, the system issues to the user a number of credits for downloading at no additional charge at least one of the software products during a credit interval, which may be equal in length to the billing interval. In one embodiment, the system debits a number of credits in response to fulfilling a user&#39;s purchase request. The system may be also configured to deduct credits that are not used within selected credit intervals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of the invention relates to the sale and distribution ofsoftware products. More particularly, the field of the invention relatesto a system and method for selling software products via a network.

2. Description of the Related Technology

The process of manufacturing and distributing software products can beexpensive. Manufacturing costs include the cost of purchasing media suchas the floppy disks or CD-ROMs, equipment to write the software onto themedia, labels to mark the media, and the packaging and shipping costsassociated with sending the media to users and purchasers of theproduct. The manufacturing process includes the preparation of physicalmedia for distribution, and may be very time-consuming depending on theavailability of manufacturing resources. Furthermore, labor costsinclude the cost of coordinating the manufacturing process, the testingprocess, and the physical distribution process.

In view of these problems, certain distributors have recently turned toselling and transmitting the software products to users via theInternet. As non-limiting examples, software products include: games,business software, databases, audio files, music, audio books, and videofiles. When selling software products, it is possible to complete theentire transaction, i.e., accept payment from a customer, and deliverthe digital content to the customer, within the confines of theInternet. Electronic distribution carries fewer of the costs associatedwith manufacturing and distributing tangible products.

When selling software products over the Internet, the user typicallyprovides billing information and in return, is then granted access todownload the purchased software product. This can be viewed as a onetime transaction. The user may or may not at later point in timepurchase other software products from the vendor. Disadvantageously,known software distribution systems do not provide vendors with aconsistent recurring revenue stream for the sale of multiple differentproducts.

Other distributors have turned to selling subscriptions (“leases”) thatallow the user to download selected software products and use theproducts for the term of the subscription. Disadvantageously for theusers, at the end of the subscription, the user does not have the rightto retain the software. At the end of the subscription, the downloadedsoftware product is typically inoperative. This is less satisfactory tomany users than being able to retain ownership of purchased products.

Consequently, vendors have a need for an improved system and method thatincreases recurring revenue for the sale of software products.Furthermore, the system and method should allow a user to haveunrestricted access to the software products that are acquired, and thesystem and method should provide economic, or otherwise valuable,incentives to the user to place recurrent purchases with a vendor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for sellingand purchasing software products over a network.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating, in one embodiment of the invention,a process for a non-subscriber for purchasing products from the systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating, in one embodiment of the invention,a process for a subscriber for purchasing software products from thesystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary user interface that may be used in conjunctionwith the systems and methods for selling and purchasing softwareproducts over a network.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary user interface that may be used in conjunctionwith the process of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is yet another exemplary user interface that may be used inconjunction with the process of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for managing a softwarepurchasing subscription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is directed to certain specificembodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be embodied ina multitude of different ways as defined and covered by the claims. Inthis description, reference is made to the drawings wherein like partsare designated with like numerals throughout.

In some embodiments, the invention concerns systems and methods forevaluating, selling, purchasing, and/or distributing software productsover a computer network. In one embodiment, the invention provides amethod whereby a consumer benefits by purchasing multiple softwareproducts at discounted prices. In another embodiment, the inventionprovides a subscription plan whereby a consumer conveniently andperiodically may purchase software products at prices that are reducedcompared to individual, one-time or serial purchases of softwareproducts. Moreover, these and other embodiments of the invention benefitthe software product manufacturer, marketer, or distributor by, forexample, creating a customer subscription base that encourages repeatsells and customer loyalty. These and other advantages of the inventivesystems and methods are evident from the detailed description of theinvention that follows.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for sellingand purchasing software products. FIG. 1 shows a server computer 100that is connected to a plurality of client computers 104A-104N via anetwork 108. The server 100 maintains a plurality of software products112A-112L that are purchasable by users of the client computers104A-104N. As non-limiting examples, the software products 112A-112L caninclude executable code, games, business software, medical software,video files, music, audio files, music programs, movies, and audiobooks. Software products can also include any digital content that canbe transmitted over a communications network, e.g., the Internet. Thedigital content can be downloaded from the server computer 100 to aclient computer 104A.

The server computer 100 provides an interface (see FIGS. 4-5) to allow auser of the client computers 104A-104N to purchase a softwaresubscription. As part of the subscription, the user is required to pay aselected amount during selected intervals, i.e., credit periods, in thesubscription period. For example, in one embodiment the user pays $6.95for a monthly subscription to a computer games distribution program. Ofcourse, the actual amount and length of the credit period may varywidely. That is, the charged amounts may be from nominal ($0.50, forexample) to as much as $1,000 or more depending on the software productsinvolved. In return, the user is authorized to download for noadditional charge one of the software products 112A-112L during each ofthe credit periods. The subscription period may be for a predeterminedduration, e.g., 3 years, or alternatively, of indefinite duration untilcancelled by the provider of the server 100 or one of the users of theclient computers 104A-104N. It should be noted that the credit periodsmay be hours, days, weeks, months, or years, for example.

In one embodiment of the invention, duration of the credit period is thesame as each of the billing periods in the subscription. In anotherembodiment of the invention, there is no relation between the creditperiod and the billing period. In some embodiments, the methods mayinclude a requirement that the user commit to a predetermined number ofmultiple subscription periods. For example, the user may be required topay an up-front amount equal to the periodic payments for the specifiednumber subscription periods. By way of example, the user may be asked tomake a one time payment of $20.85 for three subscription periods(3×$6.95) as a condition of gaining membership into the subscriptionplan. In other embodiments, the user may have the option to buy alifetime subscription with an up-front payment, or make an up-frontpayment for a predetermined number of subscription periods.

The server computer 100 maintains a subscription database 116 thatstores all subscription information, such as which users have asubscription, payment and billing information, the billing period, thecredit period, the subscription period, and which software products112A-112L have been transmitted to the respective users. It is to beappreciated that the subscription database 116 need not be stored on theserver computer' 100 as long it is accessible by the server computer viathe network 100.

The server computer 100 and the client computers 104A-104N may includeany conventional general purpose single- or multi-chip microprocessorsuch as a Pentium® processor, Pentium II® processor, Pentium III®processor, Pentium IV® processor, a Pentium® Pro processor, a 8051processor, a MPS® processor, a Power PC® processor, or an ALPHA®processor. In addition, the microprocessor may be any conventionalspecial purpose microprocessor such as a digital signal processor.

The network 108 may include any type of electronically connected groupof computers including, for instance, the following networks: Internet,Intranet, Local Area Networks (LAN) or Wide Area Networks (WAN). Inaddition, the connectivity to the network may be, for example, modern,Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), Token Ring (IEEE 802.5), Fiber DistributedDatalink Interface (FDDI) or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Note thatcomputing devices in the network 108, the server computer 100, and theclient computers 108A-108N may be desktop, server, portable, hand-held,set-top, or any other desired type of configuration. As used herein, thenetwork includes network variations such as the public Internet, aprivate network within the Internet, a secure network within theInternet, a private network, a public network, a value-added network, anintranet, and the like.

The server computer 100 and the client computers 104A-104N may have oneor more input devices. For example, the input device may be a keyboard,rollerball, pen and stylus, mouse, or voice recognition system. Theinput device may also be a touch screen associated with an outputdevice. The user may respond to prompts on the display by touching thescreen. The user may enter textual or graphic information through theinput device.

The server computer 100 and the client computers 104A-104N may be usedin connection with various operating systems such as: UNIX, LINUX, DiskOperating System (DOS), OS/2, PalmOS, VxWorks, Windows 3.X, Windows 95,Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows CE, and Windows XP.

In one embodiment of the invention, the client computers 104A-104N eachincludes service software 120. The service software 120 downloadssoftware products 112A-112L from the server computer 100. In oneembodiment of the invention, the service software 120 is an Internetbrowser such as Internet Explorer published by Microsoft, Inc. ofRedmond, Wash., or alternatively, Netscape® by Netscape CommunicationsCorp. of Mountain View, Calif. in another embodiment of the invention,the service software 120 is a digital rights management applicationprogram for testing, evaluating, using, and purchasing software products112A-112L. FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary user interface 404 that may beused in conjunction with the service software 120. The software products112A-112L need not be manufactured or produced by the administrator ofthe server 100, but instead, may be resale products.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for a non-subscribed userfor purchasing products from the system of FIG. 1. For convenience ofdescription, FIG. 2 is described with respect to a user of clientcomputer 104A. However, it is to be appreciated that the same processesoccur on client computer 104B-104N. Depending on the embodiment,additional steps may be added, others removed, selected steps may bemerged together, and the ordering of the steps rearranged.

Starting at a step 200, a user accesses the service software 120. Theservice software 120 (FIG. 1) allows a user to evaluate and purchasesoftware products 104A-104N and/or software subscriptions for thepurchase of the software products 112A-1112L. (FIG. 4 shows an exemplaryuser interface that may be employed to provide access to thefunctionality of the service software 120). In one embodiment, theservice software 120 has access to a searchable database (not shown) toallow the user search for particular products names or those productsfalling within a selected category or sub-categories, e.g.,games—action, cards, strategy and business—accounting, payroll, humanresources.

Proceeding to a step 204, the user selects at least one of the softwareproducts 112A-112L. Next, at a decision step 208, the service software120 determines the type of acquisition the user has requested for theselected software product, i.e., evaluation or purchase. If the user hasrequested to purchase the software product, the process proceeds to astep 212. In one embodiment of the invention, the service software 120downloads an unrestricted-access version of the software product to theclient computer 104A. Of course, in some embodiments, once the userdownloads the software product, the user may enjoy all ownership rightsover the software product, limited only by copyright and/or implicit orexplicit licensing terms.

Continuing to a step 216, as part of the purchase process of thesoftware product, the user is presented an opportunity to purchase asoftware subscription. In one embodiment, for the software subscriptionthe user pays predetermined amounts during selected billing periods in asubscription period. In return, the user downloads at no additionalcharge one of the software products 112A-112L during each of selectedcredit periods. After download, the user has unrestricted access to thesoftware downloaded products. If the user does not use a credit beforethe expiration of a selected credit period, the credit expires.Alternatively, the user may be offered a free trial subscription uponpurchase of a software product. For example, the user may receive freeof charge a membership consisting of one or more billing cycles. FIG. 3below explains the process for purchasing software over the network 108when the user has a membership subscription.

As part of the purchase of a software product 112A-112L and the softwaresubscription, the user provides billing information to the servicesoftware 120. The service software 120 transmits the billing informationto the server computer 100 and it is stored in the subscription database116. Furthermore, as part of the purchase, the server computer 100updates the subscription database 116 to reflect that the user haspurchased the selected product. In one embodiment, the server computer100 automatically sends upgrades to the purchased software as theybecome available. Furthermore, if the user upgrades to a new computer,the server computer 100 allows a user to re-download via the network 100any previously purchased software products.

Next, at a step 220, the user is assigned a credit for the purchase ofone of the software products. Furthermore, an expiration period isassigned to the credit. Prior to the end of the expiration period, theuser may purchase one of the software products 112A-112L using theassigned credit. If the user does not purchase one of the softwareproducts 112A-112L within the expiration period, the credit expires.

Referring again to the decision step 208, if the user decides toevaluate one of the software products 112A-112L, the process proceeds toa step 224. In one embodiment, the service software 120 downloads atrial version of the software product to the client computer 104A. Thetrial version of the software product can be configured so that it canonly run for an evaluation period, e.g., a limited number of times orfor a limited duration. Next, at a step 228, the user evaluates thesoftware product during the evaluation period. Continuing to the step212 (discussed above), it is assumed that the user is interested in thesoftware product 112A-112L, and purchases it.

Referring again now to the step 200, if the user purchases a softwaresubscription, the process proceeds to a step 232. At the step 232, theuser provides billing information to the service software 120. Theservice software 120 transmits the billing information to the servercomputer 100 via the network 108. The server computer 100 updates thesubscription database 116 to indicate the purchase of the softwareproduct. At this step, the user is assigned a credit for the purchase ofone of the software products. Furthermore, at this step, the user maypurchase one of the products with the assigned credit. The process thenends at the step 222.

Referring again now to the step 200, if the user selects a free trial ofthe subscription service, the process proceeds to a step 236. As part ofthe free trial, the user is granted for a limited number of subscriptionperiods, the ability to download one of the software products 112A-112Lduring each of the subscription periods. In one embodiment, after theexpiration of the limited number of subscription periods, the user isautomatically billed for the subscription on a periodic basis. Inanother embodiment of the invention, after the expiration of the limitednumber of subscription periods, the user is asked by the servicesoftware 120 whether he is interested in maintaining the subscription ona fee basis.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process for a subscribed user (a“member”) for purchasing products from the system 95 of FIG. 1. Forconvenience of description, FIG. 3 is described with respect to a userof client computer 104A. However, it is to be appreciated that the sameprocesses occur on client computer 104B-104N. Depending on theembodiment, additional steps may be added, others removed, selectedsteps may be merged together, and the ordering of the steps rearranged.

Starting at a step 300, a member accesses the service software 120.Next, at a step 304, the member selects one of the software products112A-112L. In one embodiment, the service software 120 has access to asearchable database that allows the member to search for particularproducts names or those products falling within a selected category orsub-categories, e.g., games—action, cards, strategy andbusiness—accounting, payroll, human resources.

Furthermore, at this step, the member is allowed to either (i) purchasethe selected software product or (ii) evaluate the selected softwareproduct. If the member selects to purchase the selected softwareproduct, the process proceeds to a step 308, wherein, in one embodimentof the invention, the service software 120 downloads anunrestricted-access version of the software product to the clientcomputer 104A.

Still referring to the step 308, the system 95 determines whether themember purchased the selected software product with an unexpired credit,or alternatively, using a subscription discount. In one embodiment ofthe invention, the member can purchase tiny number of software productsat a predetermined subscription discount. In one embodiment of theinvention, the use of the subscription discount does not affect thenumber of credits that have been assigned to the member. If the memberpurchases the software product with an unexpired credit, the processproceeds to a step 316, wherein the unexpired credit is deducted. At thebeginning of the next credit period, the user is provided another creditfor the purchase of one the software products 112A-112L. The number ofcredits per credit interval that are assigned to the member isconfigurable by an administrator of the server computer 100. The processproceeds to an end step 324.

Referring again to the step 308, if the member purchases the selectedsoftware product using the subscription discount, the process proceedsto a step 320. At this step, the server computer 100 charges the accountof member for the purchase of the software products and credits themember's account the subscription discount. The amount of the discountmay be based at least in part upon the number of software products thatare purchased. In another embodiment of the invention, the amount of thediscount is fixed. The process then proceeds to an end step 324.

Referring again to the step 304, if the member requests to evaluate oneof the software products 112A-112L, the process proceeds to a step 328,wherein the service software 120 downloads a trial version of thesoftware product to the client computer 104A. The trial version of thesoftware product can be configured so that it can only run for anevaluation period, e.g., a limited number of times or for a limitedduration. Next, at a step 332, the member evaluates the software productduring the evaluation period. Continuing to the step 308 (discussedabove), it is assumed that the member is interested in the softwareproduct 112A-112L and purchases it.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary user interface 404 that may be used inconjunction with the systems and methods described above. The userinterface 404 may be provided with, for example, the service software120. The user interface 404 may have a “game guide” 408 that presents tothe user icons 412 so that the user can indicate selection of one ormore software products which the user is interested in evaluating orpurchasing. The user interface 404 may be employed at step 300 of theprocess described with reference to FIG. 3. The user interface 404 mayalso include an area 416 to allow the user to indicate his desire todownload a software product. Of course, user interface 404 is merelyexemplary, and a person of ordinary skill in the art will readilyrecognize that there are multiple, equivalent ways to make accessiblethe functionality of the system 95 to the user.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary user interface 504 that may be used inconjunction with the process of FIG. 3. More specifically, withreference to step 304 of the process shown in FIG. 3, a user accessesuser interface 504 to download software products which the user maydesire to evaluate or purchase. An area 508 of the user interface 504may provide a menu indicating different categories of games that theuser may browse. Additionally, the user interface 504 may have an icon512 so that the user can indicate his wish to download a demonstrationversion of the game. Of course, the system 95 is preferably configuredto provide the functionality to transmit the selected software productfrom the server 100, via the network 108, to the client computer104A-104N. The user interface 504 may also have an icon 516 for the userto instruct the system 95 that lie wants to purchase the selectedsoftware product.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a user interface 604 that may also be used inconjunction with the process of FIG. 3. The user interface 604 may beused, for example, in connection with steps 304, 316, and 320 of theprocess described with reference to FIG. 3. The user interface 604 mayhave an input button 608 so that the user can indicate that he wishes toapply a discount (see step 320) to his purchase of the software product.The user interface 604 may also provide an input button 612 for the userto indicate that he would like to apply a credit to the purchase. Inthis embodiment, the user interface 604 presents to the user informationregarding the transaction. For example, at area 608′ the users selectionof applying a discount to the product purchase is shown. In someembodiments, such as shown in FIG. 6, the user interface 604 provides aninput button 616 so that the user is able to indicate that he is readyto complete the purchasing transaction and download the softwareproduct. Furthermore, in embodiments, where the user is a member to thesubscription program, the user's billing information may be displayed inan area 620 as shown. As discussed above, the billing information may beobtained at some point during the processes of shown in FIG. 2 or 3.

It should be understood that user interfaces 404, 504, and 604 aremerely exemplary and in no way limit the inventive systems and methodsdescribed above and recited in the claims below. The user interfaces404, 504, and 604 exemplify some of the ways in which the system 95presents its functionality to a user.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process 700 for managing a softwarepurchasing subscription in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. The process 700 starts at a step 702 after configuration ofthe system 95 (sec FIG. 1). The process 700 proceeds to a step 704 wherethe system 95 activates a user's membership account (“account”) for thesoftware purchase subscription. In one embodiment, activation of theaccount involves the server computer 100 acquiring a user's billinginformation (e.g., credit card information), client computer 104Aconfiguration (e.g., type of communications port), etc. The process 700next proceeds to a step 706 where the server computer 100 starts a newbilling cycle for the account. The server computer 100 may indicate thestart of a new billing cycle by updating a field of the subscriptiondatabase 116, or by updating a remote database (not shown) that is incommunication with the server computer 100, for example.

Next, at a step 708 of the process 700, the server computer 100 issues anew purchase credit to the account. This task involves the servercomputer 100 updating a field in the subscription database 116, forexample. The purchase credit allows the user to acquire a softwareproduct 112A-112L at no additional charge, or at a discounted price,etc. Of course, depending on the embodiment, the server computer 100 mayissue multiple purchase credits after the start of a new billing cycle.For example, if a user pays $20 per billing period of the subscription,the server computer 100 may issue one purchase credit. However, if auser pays $30 per billing period, the server computer 100 may issuethree purchase credits per billing period.

The process 700 next proceeds to a decision step 710 where the servercomputer 100 receives input from the account's user, i.e., the “member”,regarding the method of purchasing a software product 112A-112L. Theserver computer 100 determines whether or not the member indicatespurchase of a software product 112A-112L with a purchase credit. If theserver computer 100 determines that the member indicates a purchase of asoftware product 112A-112L using a purchase credit, the process 700proceeds to a step 712 where the server computer 100 deducts from theaccount the purchase credit having a time stamp indicating that thepurchase credit is the closest to expiration. If however, at thedecision step 710 the server computer 100 determines that the memberindicates that the purchase of a software product 112A-112L does not usea purchase credit, the process 700 moves to a decision step 714.

At the decision step 714, the server computer 100 queries whether any ofthe of credits in the account have expired. As previously explained withreference to the process shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment a creditexpires if it is not used within a predetermined period of time, forexample. Of course, expiration of credits may be based on othercriteria, e.g., a credit may expire if the number of credits in theaccount exceeds a predetermined number. If the server computer 100determines that there is an expired credit in the account, the process700 proceeds to a step 716 where the server computer 100 deducts theexpired credit from the account. The server computer 100 may deduct theexpired credit by, for example, modifying a data record in thesubscription database 116. If, on the other hand, the server computer100 determines at the decision step 714 that there is no expiredpurchase credit in the account, the process 700 continues to a decisionstep 718.

The server computer 100 determines at the decision step 718 whether thecurrent billing cycle is over. As discussed above with reference to theprocess illustrated in FIG. 3, in one embodiment of the invention amember pays a predetermined amount during selected billing periods,which billing periods may or may not coincide with credit periods inwhich the account is provided with additional purchase credits ordebited because of expired purchase credits. In the embodiment of FIG.7, the billing cycle coincides with the credit period. That is, for eachbilling period there is one credit period. If the server computer 100determines that the current cycle is not over, the process 700 returnsto the decision step 710 and continues as discussed above.

If the server computer 100 determines at the decision step 718 that thecurrent cycle is over, the process 700 moves to a step 720 where theserver computer 100 queries whether the membership is in good standing.Of course, there are many criteria that may be employed to characterizea membership as being in good standing or not. For example, if a memberhas not made the required periodic payment for the subscription, themembership may be deemed to not be in good standing. By way of anotherexample, if a user cancels the membership the account may remain validfor one or more credit periods; however, at the end of the remainingcredit periods the membership would be deemed to not be in goodstanding. If the server computer 100 determines that the membership isnot in good standing, the process 700 returns to the step 710 andcontinues as previously described. In one embodiment the process 700continues to loop between steps 710 and 718 as long as the membership isnot in good standing. However, in other embodiments, the process 700 mayterminate upon a determination that the membership is not in goodstanding.

If the computer server 100 determines at decision step 720 that themembership is in good standing, the process 700 returns to the step 706and starts a new billing cycle. In one embodiment, as long as themembership remains in good standing, the process 700 loops from step 706to step 720 indefinitely. Hence, a member's subscription period mayinclude multiple billing cycles in which purchase credits are issued,used to purchase software products, and/or deducted from the account asexpired because not used within a credit period. Of course, depending onthe specific embodiment, the process 700 may include additional or fewersteps, selected steps may be merged together, and the ordering of thesteps rearranged.

It should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the relevanttechnology that the system 95 of FIG. 1, in cooperation with any of theprocesses discussed above, provides a way for distributors of softwareproducts to reduce distribution costs and to create recurring revenuestreams. Furthermore, in some embodiments the system 95 is beneficial tousers since they acquire personal ownership of the software products,providing the users with unrestricted access to the purchased products.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointedout novel features of the invention as applied to various embodiments,it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changesin the form and details of the device or process illustrated may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appendedclaims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which comewithin the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to beembraced within their scope.

1. A computer method of selling software games, the method comprising:selling a subscription with a server to a plurality of software games,the subscription requiring a user to pay a predetermined amount atselected billing intervals during a subscription period; with theserver, allocating a credit for the purchase of one or more of theplurality of software games by the user during a credit interval,wherein the subscription period comprises a plurality of creditintervals; receiving a purchase request from the user for one of thesoftware games during the credit interval; and debiting the allocatedcredit.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingforwarding the software game to a client computer over a communicationsnetwork.
 4. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising: receiving apurchase request for a second one of the software games; and selling thesecond software game for a predetermined discount. 5.-6. (canceled)
 7. Acomputer method of selling software games, the method comprising:selling a subscription with a computer, the subscription requiring auser to pay a predetermined amount during a plurality of billingintervals in a subscription period; allocating a credit with thecomputer for the purchase of one of a plurality of software games duringa plurality of credit intervals in the subscription period; and debitingthe credit with the computer for the purchase of one of the softwaregames if the user has not purchased any of the software games before theexpiration of at least one of the credit intervals. 8-10. (canceled) 11.A client computer, comprising: a memory; and a software module, residingin the memory, the module configured for purchasing a subscription via anetwork from a server, the subscription requiring a user to pay apredetermined amount at selected billing intervals, the subscriptionallocating an expirable credit for the purchase of a computer executablegame code during a credit interval, the module transmitting a purchaserequest to a server computer for purchase of the computer executablecode during the credit interval, and the module receiving the computerexecutable code from the server computer.
 12. The client computer ofclaim 11, wherein the client computer includes a communications card fortransmitting the purchase request via the network.
 13. The clientcomputer of claim 11, wherein the communications card is a dialup modem.14. A server computer, comprising: a memory; and a software module,residing in the memory, the module configured for selling a subscriptionvia a network, the subscription requiring a user to pay a predeterminedamount at selected intervals in a subscription period, the subscriptionallocating an expirable credit for the purchase of a software gameduring each of the intervals, the module receiving a purchase requestfrom a client computer for purchase of at least one of the softwaregames during at least one of the selected intervals, and the moduletransmitting the software game to the client computer.
 15. The servercomputer of claim 14, wherein the client computer includes acommunications card for transmitting the purchase request via thenetwork.
 16. The server computer of claim 14, wherein the communicationscard is a dial-up modem.
 17. A program storage device carryingcomputer-executable instructions that when executed cause a computer toperform steps comprising: selling a subscription with a computer, thesubscription requiring a user to pay a predetermined amount at aplurality of billing intervals in a subscription period; allocating,with the computer, at least one credit for the purchase of one of aplurality of software games during a credit interval; receiving, withthe computer, a purchase request for a selected one of the softwaregames; and debiting an allocated credit corresponding to the purchaserequest with the computer.
 18. The program storage device of claim 17,wherein allocating at least one credit comprises determining the numberof credits to be allocated based at least in part on the predeterminedamounts the user pays.
 19. The program storage device of claim 17,wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the computerto to forward the software game to a computing device via acommunications network.
 20. The program storage device of claim 17,wherein the instructions further cause the computer to transmit theselected software game to a client computer via a communications card.21. The program storage device of claim 17, wherein the credit isexpirable.
 22. A program storage device storing computer-executableinstructions that when executed perform the method comprising:purchasing a subscription, the subscription requiring a user to pay apredetermined amount at a plurality of billing intervals in asubscription period, the subscription providing a credit for thepurchase of one of a plurality of software games during each of theintervals; and purchasing one of the software games using the credit.23. The program storage device, of claim 22, wherein the credit isexpirable.
 24. The program storage device of claim 22, wherein theduration of the billing interval is one month.
 25. The program storagedevice of claim 24, wherein the computer-executable instructions furtherinclude instructions for forwarding the purchased software game to aclient computer via a communications network.
 26. A computer methodcomprising: purchasing a subscription by transmitting data from a clientcomputer to a server computer, the subscription requiring a user to paya predetermined amount at selected intervals in a subscription period,the subscription providing one or more credits for the purchase of oneof a plurality of software games during each of the intervals; andpurchasing one of the software games using at least one of the creditstransmitting data from the client computer to the server computer. 27.The method of claim 26, wherein the each of the intervals is a month.28. The program storage device of claim 26, further comprising receivingthe software game at the client computer via a communications network.29. The method of claim 26, wherein the provided credit expires if it isnot used at the end of the interval in which it was provided.
 30. Acomputer system for selling software games, the system comprising:computer means for selling a subscription, the subscription requiring auser to pay a predetermined amount at selected intervals in asubscription period; computer means for allocating a credit for thepurchase of one of a plurality of software games during each of theintervals; computer means for receiving a purchase request for one ofthe software games; and computer means for debiting the allocatedcredit.
 31. The system of claim 30, wherein the each of the intervals isa month.
 32. The system of claim 30, further comprising: computer meansfor forwarding the software game to a client computer via acommunications network.
 33. The system of claim 30, additionallycomprising: computer means for receiving a purchase request for a secondone of the software games; and computer means for selling the secondsoftware game for a predetermined discount.
 34. The system of claim 30,wherein the purchase request is received via a network and the methodadditionally comprises transmitting the software game to the user viathe network.
 35. A computer system for selling software games, thesystem comprising: computer means for selling a subscription, thesubscription requiring a user to pay a predetermined amount at selectedintervals in a subscription period; computer means for allocating acredit for the purchase of one of a plurality of software games duringeach of the intervals; and computer means for debiting the credit forthe purchase of a selected one of the software games if the user has notpurchased any of the software games before the expiration of theinterval.
 36. The system of claim 35, wherein the each of the intervalsis a month.
 37. The system of claim 35, further comprising: computermeans for forwarding a purchased software game to a client computer viaa communications network.
 38. The system of claim 35, wherein thepurchase request is received via a network and the method additionallycomprises transmitting the software game to the user via the network.39. A server computer configured for distributing, over a computernetwork, software games on a subscription basis, the server computercomprising: a module, residing in a memory of the computer server, themodule configured for: selling a subscription via a computer network;wherein the subscription requires a user to pay a predetermined amountat selected intervals in a subscription period; and wherein thesubscription allocates, during each of the intervals, an expirablecredit that the user may use to purchase of a software game; wherein thecredit expires if the user does not use the credit to purchase asoftware game during the credit period; receiving a purchase requestfrom a client computer for purchase of at least one of the softwaregames, wherein the user pays for the software game with an unexpiredcredit; transmitting the software game to the client computer; anddebiting a credit from a credit account of the user.
 40. The server ofclaim 39, wherein the each of the intervals is a month.
 41. The serverof claim 39, wherein the module is transmits the software game to theclient computer over a communications network.
 42. A computer method ofselling digital content, the method comprising: selling a subscriptionwith a computer, the subscription requiring a user to pay apredetermined amount at selected billing intervals in a subscriptionperiod; allocating a credit with the computer for the purchase of one ofa plurality of digital content products during a credit interval,wherein the subscription period comprises a plurality of creditintervals; receiving, with the computer, a purchase request for one ofthe digital content products during a credit interval; and debiting theallocated credit with the computer.
 43. The method of claim 42,additionally comprising: receiving, with the computer, a purchaserequest for a second one of the digital content products; and selling,with the computer, the second digital content product for apredetermined discount.
 44. The method of claim 42, wherein the purchaserequest is received via a network and the method additionally comprisestransmitting the digital content product to a client computer via thenetwork.